"Squelching" is the present participle or gerund form of the verb "squelch". Like most participles and gerunds, it usually begins a phrase that functions as a whole as an adjective or adverb (for the participle) or a noun (for the gerund).
adverb
what part of speech is beneath
i want to know what part of speech is camping
The part of speech is a adjective
Oppose is a verb.
squelching
The part of speech for this particular word is a noun.
part of speech
The part of speech for "answer" is a noun.
what part of speech is beneath
adverb
The part of speech for "explicit" is an adjective.
The part of speech for "lecturer" is a noun.
The part of speech for "rapid" is an adjective.
The part of speech of "came" is a verb.
The part of speech for "breezy" is an adjective.
The part of speech for "buried" is a verb.